I forgot the other pic LOL. Here it is

http://postimage.org/image/y54r1y353/

That's interesting- thanks for posting the pictures.

Juvenile leaves look different. As it grows out it will probably start to look more like a regular pear leaf. Thorns are also common on juvenile pears but are rare on mature pears or grafted trees.

Scott

Wow, I should clarify a few things. Sorry for being so vague.

THe first pic, if you havnt guessed, is a cultivated type, more specifically, "John".

The second pic, is the seedling from a "Bosc" pear. IT is just over a year old.

Scott - I was thinking that myself actually. There are no thorns at all on the seedling. I want to keep half of this, and graft on a more desireable/reliable variety as well. I couldnt find any likeness on any adult pear pictures I looked at, but I dont recall looking at younger plants.

It is interesting either way. THanks!

Additionally, 'John' is a hybrid, with P.ussuriensis as one parent, while Bosc is pure P.communis('course, we don't necessarily know the pollen parent of the Bosc seedling, do we?)

I don't notice much, in the way of thorns, on seedling pears for the first 2-3 years, but after that - watch out! They're almost as bad as a honeylocust.

Lucky - Even the hybrid has the general "pear" type leaf as far as I can tell.

And, Im somewhat sure, that the pear was ontario grown. I know bosc and barlett are decent pollinators for each other, so if I had to guess it may be barlett.

Good to know about the thorns too. Ill have to keep an eye out!